Immigration -- Challenge to Guilty Pleas

The United States Supreme Court (Chaidez v. United States, 568 U.S. ____) ruled today that its decision in Padilla v. Kentucky holding that criminal defense attorneys must advise their clients about the clear important immigration consequences of pleading guilty before the plea is entered applies only to guilty pleas occurring after March 31, 2010, the date of the Padilla decision.  Under Padilla, a criminal defendant immigrant could challenge a guilty plea if he or she were not properly advised of the immigration consequences of pleading guilty because the failure to provide that advice is considered to be ineffective assistance of counsel.  While the Supreme Court found that for federal criminal cases, Padilla could not be applied retroactively, in Massachusetts, claims of ineffective assistance may remain retroactive to April 1, 1997 under Clarke v. Commonwealth, 460 Mass. 30 (2011).